2003 Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society AN UNFASHIONABLE OBSERVATION TAKES HOLD: SUFFERING AND THE LIMITS OF PEDAGOGY

Man, the most courageous of beasts and the one most given to suffering, does not turn away from suffering as such: he embraces it, he even seeks it out, provided he has an understanding of it as constructed, a purpose of suffering…(TI, III, 28). It seems a trivial point to say that suffering occurred as a result of the events of 9/11. What might education have to say about this suffering? Among the many responses that education could have, one might be to investigate the role that education has in alleviating, reducing, or somehow minimizing said suffering. This seems a natural enough task. Theorizing of this suffering might consist of tracing its psychosocial, historical and philosophical origins in an effort to “understand ” the trauma. In so doing, theorizing the suffering operates as a first step to its ultimate containment and alleviation. Theorizing can also take the path of investigating among the many classroom techniques those that best foster this goal. Regardless of what origins are examined, or techniques proffered, theorizing the suffering of an event such as 9/11 will undoubtedl